Anthony David Gonzalez was born on February 27,1976 and is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League for 17 seasons.
57 Facts About Tony Gonzalez
2.
Tony Gonzalez spent his first 12 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected him in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft.
3.
Since retiring in 2013, Tony Gonzalez has served as a football analyst for NFL on Prime Video and was previously at CBS Sports and Fox Sports.
4.
Tony Gonzalez finished his career with 14 Pro Bowl selections, the most for a tight end and second-most in league history, in addition to receiving six first-team All-Pros.
5.
Tony Gonzalez was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
6.
Tony Gonzalez was born in Torrance, California, the son of Judith "Judy" and Joseph Felix Tony Gonzalez, Jr.
7.
Tony Gonzalez was raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family.
8.
Tony Gonzalez attended Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, California, where he lettered in football and basketball.
9.
Tony Gonzalez chose to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in communications and played both football and basketball.
10.
Tony Gonzalez decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to declare for the NFL Draft.
11.
Tony Gonzalez was ranked as one of the top tight ends in the 1997 NFL Draft and was considered a top 15 selection.
12.
Tony Gonzalez finished his rookie season with 33 receptions, two touchdowns, and a blocked punt on special teams, helping the Chiefs to finish with the best record in the American Football Conference.
13.
Tony Gonzalez was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for the 1997 season.
14.
The 1999 season saw Tony Gonzalez again improving when he caught 76 passes for 849 yards and a career-high 11 touchdown receptions, earning his first Pro Bowl selection.
15.
Tony Gonzalez was named to the Pro Bowl and as a First Team All-Pro for the 2000 season.
16.
From 2003 to 2006, Tony Gonzalez was the most productive tight end in the NFL.
17.
Tony Gonzalez was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl for the 2003 season.
18.
Tony Gonzalez earned a spot in the Pro Bowl for his historic season.
19.
Tony Gonzalez finished with 73 receptions for 900 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns and earned his eight consecutive Pro Bowl nomination.
20.
In 2006, Tony Gonzalez broke wide receiver Otis Taylor's Chiefs team receiving yards and touchdowns mark, and passed running back Priest Holmes for the team yards from scrimmage record.
21.
In 2007, Tony Gonzalez continued his productivity in spite of the generally poor play of the Chiefs' offense.
22.
On October 14,2007, Tony Gonzalez broke the career touchdown reception record for tight ends previously held by Shannon Sharpe, as well as passing Ozzie Newsome for second in career receiving yards for a tight end.
23.
On December 23,2007, Tony Gonzalez recorded his third season with 1,000 receiving yards, tying him with Kellen Winslow, Todd Christensen, and Shannon Sharpe for most ever by a tight end, and on December 30,2007, Tony Gonzalez passed Shannon Sharpe for most receptions all time by a tight end.
24.
In week 4 of the 2008 season, Tony Gonzalez became NFL all-time leader in receiving yards for a tight end with 10,064, surpassing Shannon Sharpe.
25.
Tony Gonzalez recorded 96 receptions for 1,058 yards and was elected to his tenth career Pro Bowl.
26.
Tony Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft on April 23,2009.
27.
Tony Gonzalez finished the game leading the Falcons in receiving with five receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown, his 20-yard touchdown reception marking only the third time he scored in the opening game of the season.
28.
Tony Gonzalez had his best performance as a Falcon two weeks later against the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints, as caught eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown to help lead Atlanta to an overtime victory.
29.
Tony Gonzalez was named to the Pro Bowl and was ranked 53rd among his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.
30.
Tony Gonzalez caught his 100th career touchdown on November 11,2012, in a week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints, becoming the only tight end in NFL history to catch 100 touchdown passes.
31.
On March 15,2013, Tony Gonzalez agreed to re-sign with the Falcons to a two-year, $14 million contract, despite his claim that he would be retiring after the 2013 season.
32.
Tony Gonzalez finished his final season with 83 receptions for 859 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns.
33.
Tony Gonzalez is frequently considered the greatest tight end of all-time.
34.
Tony Gonzalez finished 5th in yards, 2nd in receptions, and 6th in touchdowns.
35.
Tony Gonzalez ended his career with an active consecutive games with a reception streak of 265 which ran from a game played on November 26,2000, to his final game on December 29,2013.
36.
Tony Gonzalez only failed to record a reception in 5 of his 270 games he played, the majority of which occurred his rookie season.
37.
Tony Gonzalez was inducted during halftime of a game during the 2018 season.
38.
Tony Gonzalez was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade team as well as the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
39.
Tony Gonzalez worked for CBS until the end of the 2016 season.
40.
On May 10,2017, Tony Gonzalez was added to Fox's pregame show.
41.
Tony Gonzalez left Fox on July 16,2021, to focus on more TV and film projects.
42.
Tony Gonzalez has done some acting, primarily cameo roles as himself.
43.
Tony Gonzalez has appeared in three episodes of NCIS as Special Agent Tony Francis.
44.
In March 2015, Tony Gonzalez hosted You Can't Lick Your Elbow on the National Geographic Channel, which ran for six episodes.
45.
Tony Gonzalez performed Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance" and Devo's "Whip It", but did not win.
46.
In early 2007, Tony Gonzalez suffered a bout of facial paralysis known as Bell's palsy.
47.
Tony Gonzalez subsequently experimented with a vegan diet after reading The China Study, by Cornell professor and nutrition researcher T Colin Campbell, but he and his nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan, ultimately decided that eating meat occasionally would be best for his performance.
48.
Tony Gonzalez only eats organic fruits and vegetables, free-range chicken, grass fed beef, and fish.
49.
Tony Gonzalez had a commitment ceremony in July 2007 with his girlfriend, October, though the couple considers themselves married despite not being legally married.
50.
Tony Gonzalez has another son from a previous relationship with entertainment reporter Lauren Sanchez.
51.
On July 3,2008, while dining with his family at Capone's Restaurant in Huntington Beach, California, Tony Gonzalez noticed fellow diner Ken Hunter choking on a piece of meat at a nearby table, unable to breathe.
52.
Tony Gonzalez was the grand marshal of the 2014 Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade.
53.
Tony Gonzalez, is an Ambassador for the non-profit, Scholars' Hope Foundation in Huntington Beach.
54.
Later in 2009, Tony Gonzalez co-founded All-Pro Science, a sports nutrition company that manufactured a complete line of protein shakes, vitamins and other supplements.
55.
The products in the APS line follow a similar philosophy to the one set forth in Tony Gonzalez's book, focusing on a balance of foods from all-natural sources.
56.
From 2013 to 2017, Tony Gonzalez worked with FitStar, a company that makes mobile fitness apps, helping people get in shape with customized workouts delivered via the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
57.
Tony Gonzalez appears in the FitStar Personal Trainer, leading users through personalized Sessions.